Gotta Groove Records did not exist a year ago. The dream of starting a vinyl pressing plant was nothing more than idle speculation then. It was in mid-January of 2009 that the journey to making this dream a reality began to take shape, thanks to the willingness of Jerry Salerno at Dynamic Sun to depart with his assets after over sixty years of being in business.
Moving the presses and the associated equipment to Cleveland took place last March, and the Tyler Village space in which we now reside was confirmed in May. It wasn’t until late August that we were in a position to press our first records.
Upon reflection, we have come an incredibly long way in a relatively short period of time. Such progress only occurs due to the efforts of many people. Dan Greathouse’s willingness to jump on board and tackle the job of learning, operating and repairing the machinery was a key first step. Matt Earley and Tyler Kremberg joined up with us in June, and they have done a fantastic job spearheading our sales and marketing efforts. Tim Thornton and my son, Vince, have both been working with us over the last couple of months as press operators, quality assurance and jacks of all trades. My wife, Becky, has helped out with the books and provides sanity checks when needed. We hope that our continued progress will allow us to hire more talented individuals, and provide some opportunities to people during these difficult economic times.
Thanks are also in order to our many suppliers; not only have they been providing timely delivery of quality product, they have been very helpful with their advice. Of particular note is the selfless help and counsel provided by many of the people at the other pressing plants in the industry. They could have viewed us as competition and ignored our overtures – that they did not speaks volumes about their integrity and their understanding that another plant producing quality records only helps our collective efforts to spread the vinyl love. And, of course, thanks to our customers for taking a chance with the new guys and for their patience.
You are receiving this message because you make your living in the music industry. Like us, you have a passion for music, and perhaps even for vinyl. If vinyl isn’t already a part of your business plan, please consider it; thousands of artists and labels have seen the positive profitable and promotional value of the medium. Whether you use Gotta Groove Records or any one of the other fine pressing plants,
let’s make some records!
– Vince Slusarz
